A PUBLICATION OF THE CONNECTICUT SEA GRANT COLLEGE PROGRAM AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT Sea Grant Volume 20, Number 2, Fall/Winter 2020-21 WRConnecticutACKLINES WHERE CONNECTICUT MEETS THE SOUND DIVERSE PERSPECTIVES IN THE ENVIRONMENT WE SHARE WRACKLINES: A CONNECTICUT SEA GRANT PUBLICATION 1 SCIENCE DIVERSITY • ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE SCHOLAR • FRIEND OF WORLD'S FISH & FISHERS From the EDITOR Mist from the Volume 20, No. 2 Fall/Winter 2020-21 light rain clouded EDITOR JUDY BENSON my camera lens GRAPHIC DESIGN MAXINE A. MARCY as I took pictures of the Beard family. WRACK LINES is published twice a year or as resources allow by the I didn’t realize it until I looked at the photos later, but sort of liked the effect. It seemed fitting for a brief but Connecticut Sea Grant College Program friendly encounter on that overcast day in early September. Strangers shared a moment in a place we had all come at the University of Connecticut. Any to love, despite the heavy clouds of 2020 under which we were all living. opinions expressed therein are solely I met Robert and Rebecca Beard and their 9-year-old daughter Juliana at Ocean Beach Park in New London three those of the authors. days after Labor Day. They had come from their home in Norwich for a respite from computer screens after Juliana’s day of virtual schooling had ended. They strolled the boardwalk, watched ferries to Long Island pass Electronic versions of this issue and offshore and let themselves be lulled by the salt air and surf. past issues of Wrack Lines can be found at: https://seagrant.uconn.edu/ “We came here a couple of times this summer,” Robert Beard said. publications/wrack-lines/ I told him I lived just a mile and a half away, but this was my first time here all summer. Past summers, I visited There is no charge for Connecticut the beach often. This year, discomfort with being in large groups during the pandemic kept me away. residents, but donations to help with “I understand,” he said, nodding. postage and printing costs are always appreciated. Visit: https://uconn. But being back at Ocean Beach now reminded me how much I’d missed it. It’s a welcoming space for all kinds givecorps.com/causes/7154-the- of people with all kinds of ways to enjoy being outdoors. You’ll see women in saris wading into the water, hear connecticut-sea-grant-fund families speaking Chinese or Spanish as they search for crabs in Alewife Cove, and mix with families of all colors finding their own place to belong near the sea. Along the boardwalk there’s miniature golf, kiddie rides and a Change of address, subscription splash park, and at the western end a lovely nature trail through salt marshes along the cove. information, cancellation requests or editorial correspondence should be Later, I remembered I had been to Ocean Beach once this summer, but not to swim or sunbathe. On June 28, I sent to the address below: had joined about 100 others, our chairs widely spaced and our faces masked under a covered pavilion. We came to listen to the mother of Eric Garner, whose death in 2014 sparked the “I Can’t Breathe” police reform movement, Connecticut Sea Grant talk about her work since then to prevent similar tragedies. Gwen Carr’s appearance there was the local NAACP’s Communications Office alternative to the Black Lives Matter protests that had arisen since the death of George Floyd in late May, one that University of Connecticut brought together a wide cross section of the community. 1080 Shennecossett Rd. “Just looking at all of you under one roof, this is the way it should be," she said. “We do all live under one roof, Groton, CT 06340-6048 and we should be treated as one." To be added to the mailing list for a Like the pandemic, effects of the national reckoning sparked by Floyd’s death spilled into many corners of our lives. free print copy or the list serve to be I joined an online book group to discuss Ibram X. Kendi’s book, “How to be an Antiracist.” At work, CT Sea notified about the electronic version, Grant Director Sylvain De Guise and Associate Director Nancy Balcom made time for the staff to have heartfelt send your street and email addresses discussions about what we were feeling and how our organization should take more proactive steps to walk the walk to: [email protected]. of diversity in all we do, a continuation of an initiative that started several years ago. These discussions were sometimes difficult, but made me grateful to work with such caring, thoughtful people. As James Baldwin, author www.seagrant.uconn.edu of “Notes of a Native Son,” “Go Tell it on the Mountain,” and other significant works exploring race and racism www.facebook.com/ctseagrant once said, “Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.” twitter.com/ctseagrant As I write this, my co-workers and I are still having those discussions and deciding our course. I expect this will CTSG-20-10 always be a work in progress. But this issue of Wrack Lines is one in a series of actions. With the theme of “Diverse ISSN 2151-2825 (print) Perspectives in the environment we share,” we bring in the voices and talents of writers and photographers of ISSN 2151-2833 (online) different ages, races and backgrounds to tell stories we hope can help build bridges across the things that divide us. This isn’t about political correctness. It’s about making a better world for everyone by recognizing, seeking and embracing a diversity of perspectives. Above photo: Robert and Rebecca Beard and their daughter Juliana enjoy the view from the boardwalk at Ocean Beach Park in New London on an early September afternoon. Photo: Judy Benson mah Josef paddles his Judy Benson, editor Cover photo: Taylor Mayes, who talks about improving diversity in the sciences on page 6, leans on a viewing [email protected] scope at Lighthouse Point Park in New Haven in the central portrait photo by Teala Avery. Surrounding her are images of the writers, photographers, sources and places found in this issue. Cover design: Maxine 2 • Wrack Lines: A Connecticut Sea Grant Publication MarcyAlem Tiden, on bow of boat, reaches out to Ronal CONTENTS About 4 our contributors BRINGING MORE DIVERSITY TO THE KATRINA MCKELVIN SCIENCES STARTS IN THE CLASSROOM Katrina McKelvin is a high school English teacher, freelance writer and tutor. Before becoming a teacher, she was a town reporter and feature writer at The Day for 16 years. She earned Teachers, relevant lessons and her bachelor's degree from Bryant University and her master's experiences key to engaging minority degree in secondary education from Sacred Heart University. She enjoys reading, listening to music and most things chocolate. McKelvin students lives in New London with her husband and two children. GERALD TORRES Gerald Torres is professor of environmental justice at Yale School of the Environment and Yale Law School. He is former 10 president of the Association of American Law Schools and taught QUESTION-AND-ANSWER at Stanford and Harvard. Torres served as counsel to the U.S. WITH GERALD TORRES Attorney General on environmental matters and Indian affairs, on the Board of the Environmental Law Institute and the EPA's National Environmental justice primer from one Environmental Justice Advisory Council, and was the founding chairman of the nation’s leading authorities of the Advancement Project. He is board chair of the Earth Day Network and was a consultant to the United Nations. TEALA AVERY Teala Avery is a freshman at Spellman College in Atlanta and 2020 graduate of Norwich Free Academy, where she studied 15 photography for three years. In April the Otis Library exhibited DEDICATED TO IMPROVING THE a collection of her photographs titled, “Acts that Shape Us: LIVES OF FISHERMEN AND MARINE Photographs by Teala Avery of Norwich Youth Making a Difference.” She won the Gold Key Award in the Connecticut Regional ECOSYSTEMS AROUND THE WORLD Scholastic Art Awards competition and a bronze medal for photography in the National NAACP’s ACT-SO contest. She has been active in the local NAACP Youth Council, traveled with People to People and participated in Career as a marine resource economist ALA Girls State. led Bob Pomeroy into projects in 70 countries EFRA FIGUEROA Efra Figueroa is photographer and cameraman working with the Emmy Award-winning TV series “Geoambiente” and “Aventura Cientifica.” As a videographer and photographer, he specializes in marine, nature, environment and underwater images. He has 18 more than 30 years of experience in the SCUBA diving tourism SHORELINE GREENWAY TRAIL industry. His credits include feature films, national broadcast programs, EXPANDS ACCESS TO COASTAL CT educational and promotional video programs. He works as a videographer/ photographer contractor for the Puerto Rico Sea Grant Program, The University of Puerto Rico Mayagüez Campus Marine Sciences Department With persistence, organizers in four and Caribbean Coastal University of Puerto Rico, among others. towns connecting walkers, cyclists to open spaces JUDY PRESTON Judy Preston conducts public engagement and education programs for the Long Island Sound Study at Connecticut Sea Grant. In partnership with the UConn Master Gardener 21 program, she runs the Coastal Certificate program that teaches FELLOWSHIP SUPPORTS DIVERSITY sustainable gardening practices. She lives, plays and volunteers in conservation efforts at the mouth of the Connecticut River. She has IN MARINE, COASTAL RESEARCH an undergraduate degree in geology from Skidmore College, a Master of Science in botany from the University of Vermont and Master of Three undergraduates chosen for new Environmental Management from Yale University.